India bans cotton exports

Farm hands pluck cotton in a village in India. The world's second-biggest cotton producer and exporter indefinitely banned all exports of cotton on Monday.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- India banned all cotton exports on Monday, causing U.S. cotton futures to surge and igniting fears of another jump in prices for cotton goods.

India decided to immediately impose the ban because it's worried about a possible supply crunch in the country. One reason: India's cotton exports may have overshot government targets last year, its Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a statement.